Evening Academy launches March 8 to let students make up or accelerate course credit

BY THE HUB ON MARCH 1,

Evening Academy is one among many options Dallas ISD provides to students to help overcome obstacles to high school graduation. Now pre-registering students for a March 8 launch, the online self-paced classes meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings and are designed for 9-12 students who may face obstacles that prevent them from attending traditional classes. Others like the online platform or want to make up lost credits or earn additional credits. The online curriculum gives students 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week access to their coursework.

Evening Academy administrator Erlene Williams says the program is also designed to assist students facing challenging life events. “These are students who need to attend online classes because they don’t have time during the day because they’re working or supporting their families or who attend school during the day but don’t have enough time in their schedule to adequately access coursework,” Williams said. As many as 500 students per year earn credits through evening academy, some earning enough credits to graduate early.

Williams said the pace of life in today’s society means students are facing a variety of issues that may cause them to get off track academically.  Evening Academy is an academic option designed to help students get back on track toward graduation. The online and currently all-virtual classes are supported by content certified teachers who are available to help students during the scheduled class time via Google or Zoom classrooms.

Similar to a traditional classroom environment, the online program is structured to offer teacher support when students struggle with a concept or perform poorly on assessments. Teachers can pull up a whiteboard in the online platform and walk students through the lesson or give additional assignments to reinforce a concept. Williams said many teachers take the extra step of making regular contact with students to encourage to stay the course when times get tough.

As teachers develop relationships with students and get to know them, Williams said teachers also provide social emotional support, frequently checking in with students to ensure they are progressing and don’t feel overwhelmed.

Students who are interested in enrolling in Evening Academy should contact their high school counselors who will determine if the student is a good fit for the program. The main requirement is that students are sufficiently self-motivated to log in to scheduled classes and complete assignments and are willing to put in the work to keep progressing. For more information please go to https://www.dallasisd.org/eveningacademy.